The present invention relates generally to an article to facilitate the taking of notes during the course of meetings and telephone conversation and the direct transfer of such notes to files, notebooks or pages of paper dedicated to a single subject. The present invention relates more particularly to a note caddy which provides a convenient means for carrying adhesive backed note panels on one's person or in a brief case or the like, enabling the user to take notes on the segregated panels and then remove the notes from the note caddy and transfer them directly to a ledger, file or sheet dedicated exclusively to the subject matter of the note. The note is attached to the ledger, file or sheet by the adherence of the adhesive backed panel to the ledger.
Practically everyone has experienced the disruption of a telephone conversation, with respect to either a personal or business matter, when one cannot find a piece of paper on which to take notes. Likewise, frequently when a note pad or piece of paper is available, their exists the inconvenience of having notes directed to a variety of topics all on the same page when the notes later have to be transferred or rewritten to a file relating to the subject matter of the particular note.
The inconvenience of not having a note pad readily available is one that has been addressed on many, many occasions in a variety of ways. Note pads, "Post-Its".RTM. notes, tablets and the like can all be made available for the taking of notes in the course of a phone conversations, meetings or the like. However, note pads are generally difficult to maintain in a file or transfer to a file since they are too small to clip to a regular file through traditional means such as a two-hole binder clip. Notes taken on the back of business cards, napkins or the like get misplaced or lost. Larger note pads, including the standard 81/2.times.11 so-called "legal pads" are open invitations to take notes on several topics on the same sheet of paper. Again, the filing of such notes is difficult because it requires recopying the material relating to the various topics onto separate sheets so that they can be filed in separate files according to the subject matter of the individual topic. Those who are sufficiently organized to take the notes in a systematic fashion may try to tear a 81/2 sheet of paper into several pieces, depending on the topic covered on the portion of the sheet of paper, but still the filing of those notes is very inconvenient.
In light of the foregoing general discussion, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in the course of day to day activities, individuals in their personal lives as well as their business lives regularly make graphic notes of important information or reminders of activities that require attention. One would expect that the most frequent occasion creating circumstances of the nature just described occurs during the course of telephone conversations. However, meetings, either planned or by chance, present the same dilemma. An individual, while talking over the phone or meeting with someone about either a personal or business matter, may want to make a note about something said in the conversation. The statement made during the conversation may include such information as the name of a person to contact, a telephone number or address of someone to contact, an appointment, or any variety of other types of information. During the course of that same telephone conversation, another topic may arise during which it becomes convenient to make a note regarding the subject matter of that second topic. Still a third topic may be discussed during the course of the conversation which would require further notes on the third topic on the same page.
One attempt to try to address the problem to which Applicant's invention is directed is disclosed in the patent to Pennock, U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,903 issued on Jul. 9, 1991. In the Pennock patent, a wallet size note pack is provided which includes a paper web, at least one side which is provided with a release coating and a plurality of low tack adhesive note sheets. The paper web includes at least two fold lines divided in the web into three substantially equal sized panels, each of which is provided with a plurality of low tack note sheets arranged in an orderly arrays. The product disclosed by Pennock is a step in the right direction but is lacking in certain respects. Specifically, the product can sometimes be too bulky for certain situations. It does not facilitate those occasions in which a single sheet of note panels would be desired, for example where the user wanted to put a sheet of note panels in his pocket to carry with him before initiating a brief telephone conversation. Applicant's note caddy is an improvement over the Pennock device because it has means to facilitate the tearing off of a single sheet of the panels or individual panels in those circumstances where a small number of the note panels are needed. Further, my invention contemplates a fast adhesive (as opposed to a low tack adhesive) on the back of the note panel. My invention is a part of an overall system to facilitate note taking to allow one to transfer notes taken on an individual panel to be transferred to a sheet dedicated to the subject matter of the particular note.
Applicant has addressed these deficiencies of the prior art and has developed a note caddy that overcomes these deficiencies in a practical, economical and efficient manner.